


Music Worth Making

by Rhys_the_raven



Series: Music Worth Making [1]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-14 09:07:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29168565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhys_the_raven/pseuds/Rhys_the_raven
Summary: When the readers life is ripped from them, they're left distraught. However, with the help of their best friends, Julie and Flynn, and a band of three certain ghosts, the afterlife might not be so bad after all.
Series: Music Worth Making [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2141277
Kudos: 6





	1. Bright Forever

**Author's Note:**

> This is pretty much just introducing the characters and their relationships with each other. Things will get more interesting in the next few chapters. Also, the reader is non-binary <3

Hollywood 1995

“Don’t look down, ‘cause we’re still rising up right now, and even if we hit the ground we’ll still fly, keep dreaming like we’ll live forever, but live it like it’s now or never.”

The teenaged boys finished their soundcheck, earning scattered applause and even a “whoo!” from the employees working at The Orpheum that night. The band didn’t try to hide their smiles as they took a bow. 

“Thank you, we’re Sunset Curve!” one called out.

“Tell your friends!” another added. 

“Too bad we wasted the tightest we’ve ever played on a soundcheck,” one said as they set down their instruments. 

“Wait until tonight man, when this place gets packed with record execs.”

The boys all nodded, thinking of all the chances of fame they would have after that night.

“Okay, well, I’m thinking we fuel up before the show. I’m thinking street dogs?”

Two of the other boys liked that idea, but the other one had other plans.

Jumping off the stage, he started to make his way over to a young woman who was wiping down tables.

“Hey Bobby, where you going?” the one who had suggested they go get street dogs called out.

“I’m good!” he called out to his bandmates, then said to the girl: “Vegetarian. I could never hurt an animal.” 

“You guys are really good,” she said with a smile as the other three guys joined their band member at her table. “I see a lot of bands. Been in a couple myself. I was really feeling it.”

The guys all smiled. 

“That’s what we do this for,” one of them said. The tips of his chestnut colored hair almost reached the top of his shirt with cut off sleeves. “I’m Luke, by the way.”

“Hi, I’m Reggie.” Reggie had black hair and was wearing a leather jacket with a red flannel tied around his waist. An interesting combination, but somehow the outfit worked. 

“Alex.” A boy with blond hair spoke up from where he was hovering just to the side of the group, wearing a pale pink t-shirt.

“Bobby.” The boy who had first walked over to the girl had brown hair and a sleeveless jacket over a t-shirt. 

“Nice meeting you guys. I’m Rose.” The girl smiled at all of them again as Luke licked his finger and stuck it in Bobby’s ear. 

“Oh uh, here’s our demo, and a t-shirt, size beautiful.” Reggie handed Rose a CD and a t-shirt, earning a small groan from Alex. 

“Thanks. I’ll make sure not to wipe the tables down with this one.” 

“Oh, good call. Whenever they get wet, they just kinda fall apart in your hands,” Alex informed her.

“Don’t you guys have to go get hot dogs?” Bobby asked, clearly wanting to talk to Rose without the other three around. 

“Yeah.” Luke leaned closer to Rose, as if to tell her a secret. “He had a hamburger for lunch.”

\-----  
“Man, I can’t wait until we eat someplace where the condiments aren’t served out of the back of an Oldsmobile,” Alex grumbled as he put a pickle on his hot dog. “Hey, sorry, I got some pickle juice on your battery cables.”

“No problem. It’ll help with the rust,” the man cooking hot dogs said with a slight chuckle.

“That can’t….okay.”

The three made their way over to a couch to eat. Before they could dig in, however, Luke started speaking. 

“This is awesome, you guys. We’re playing The Orpheum! I can’t even count how many bands have played here and then ended up being huge,” he said with a slight chuckle. “Eat up, boys. ‘Cause after tonight, everything changes.”

They all bit down hungerly into their street dogs.

Alex was the first to notice that something was off. “That’s a new flavor,” he said, a small amount of worry creeping into his tone.

“Chill man. Street dogs haven’t killed us yet.” Reggie tried to calm down his friend.

Luke hesitated for a moment, then took another huge bite.

\-----

Los Angeles 2020

You made your way through the hallway, walking fast, faces pass, weaving around people as you tried to reach your locker. You smiled as you saw your two best friends waiting for you.

“Hey, underacheiver,” Flynn said in greeting.

“Hey, disappointments,” you joked back to them. “Okay, Julie, I know you don’t want me to ask, but have you figured out what you’re gonna do today?”

“I’ll know in the moment.” The frizzy-haired girl fiddled with her bracelets as she spoke, the only clue that she was nervous for her proformance later.

“Really, Jules? That’s all your giving us? Mrs. Harrison said-” Flynn was cut off from scolding one of her best friends.

“This is my last chance, I know, I was there,” Julie finished. Flynn smiled softly for a moment, but it turned to a grimace of disgust as she noticed a girl handing out flyers. 

“Ugh, what is she handing out?” she questioned.

“Desperation?” you said, only half joking. Julie and Flynn snickered. 

However, you put on a smile as the girl walked up to the three of you. 

“Here you go. My group’s performing at the spirit rally tomorrow. I’m sure you guys have nothing better to do,” she said, her eyes sweeping over you critically as she handed the flyer to Flynn. 

Flynn put on a bright, sarcastic smile. “Oh my gosh, Carrie, thanks!”

“Oh my gosh, Flynn, don’t bother coming!”

The three of you rolled your eyes at Carries retreating back. However, someone else caught Julie’s eye. 

“Nick?” you asked, looking between Julie and the blond-haired boy she was staring at.

“Still?” Flynn asked. “You know they’re gonna get married and have a bunch of unholy babies.”

“Nick’s a sweetheart.”

“Yeah, you’d actually have to talk to him to know that,” Flynn said with a small smile. “And only one of them has to be a demon to make a demon baby.” 

You nodded your approval of this statement as Flynn called out “Demon!” in Carrie’s direction.

The three of you turned towards the lockers and laughed quietly. 

“There’s that smile,” Flynn said, lightly poking both you and Julie’s face. “Now come on, let’s go prove everybody wrong.”

You flinched slightly as she put her arm around you, but tried not to show it.

\-----

“Okay, we have one last proformance,” Mrs. Harrison called out. “Julie.”

You squeezed her hand slightly as she stood up and walked over to the piano. 

She sat in silence for a moment, before saying “I’m sorry,” and running out of the room, with you and Flynn not far behind. 

\-----

“I’ll be back to pick you up at 5:30. Have fun at practice, Danny!” you called out after your little brother as he ran to join the baseball team. This was a daily routine for you; drop Danny off at practice, go to Julie’s to study and eat, pick up Danny, go home and endure torture. 

You let your mind wander as you walked to Julie’s house, which luckily wasn’t very far from the sports fields. Walking through the front door, you let your bag fall to the ground as you went to go get something to eat. 

\-----

A few hours later, you were walking back to the sports fields.  
“Hey, Danny,” you said once you saw him, ruffling the boy’s hair. “How was practice?”

You paid attention as best you could as he rambled on about what had happened that day, but if you were honest, you didn’t understand a thing about sports. You were just glad your brother had found something that made him happy.

You closed the front door as quietly as you could, not wanting to wake your father. You tip-toed into the kitchen to start making dinner, as you did every night.

“Olivia, is that you?” you mother asked. You winced. 

“Yes, mother,” you sighed slightly, afraid to tell her that you had changed your name to Y/N.

“Hurry up and get dinner started. My feet are tired from cleaning all day.”

You wanted to roll your eyes at the excuse that was very obviously a lie, your house was a mess and you knew you would be expected to clean it later, but you didn’t want to get in trouble. So you fell into a robotic sort-of motion that you had developed as a way of hiding your emotions and thoughts from your parents. 

Thirty minutes and one burnt fingertip later, dinner was ready and waiting on the table. 

“Wake up, Harold, dinner is ready.” Your mother shook your father awake. You knew if you tried that, you would be slapped across the face. By both of them. 

However, your father just sat up sleepily and lumbered over to the table. You stood over to the side as your family ate, not being allowed to join them. 

“Goddamned roast beef is overcooked again,” he grumbled. You blinked back tears. Such a small thing shouldn’t upset you, you knew, but it did. 

You endured the criticism on the meal you had worked hard to make from your mother and father for the next half-hour. Your father declared himself full and snapped his fingers at you. You whisked his plate away before taking your mother’s, too. She never ate after he finished. You took Danny’s too, but only because you knew that your parents disapproved of him still eating.  
“Hey,” your father said, his voice already low and dangerous. “Give your brother back his plate. He wasn’t finished yet.”

You set the plate back down, nodding and shaking slightly. “My apologies, father.”

“Don’t appologize to your father, appologize to your brother!” your mother exclaimed, grabbing Danny’s hand from across the table and giving it a squeeze. 

“It’s okay, really, I was done,” he hurried to say.

Your mother frowned at him. “Are you sure, darling?”

He nodded. 

“Well, okay then…” she said, still frowning slightly. “You may be excused.” 

He ran off to his room. You took his plate. 

Heading back to the kitchen with a small sigh, you started making a meal for yourself out of what was left, leaving enough so that your family would have leftovers. 

You ate silently, thinking about how nice it would be to have a caring family. Of course, Danny cared, but he was too young to stand up to your parents, and you never wanted him to have to. You would protect that boy at all costs.

Holding in a sigh, you cleaned up from dinner, and then pulled out the duster to start to clean the house. You were stopped, however, by your mother. 

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“I- I’m cleaning the house…”

“Didn’t you hear me say earlier that I cleaned it? Are you insulting my cleaning job?”

“N-no, I-”

“You what?” Without waiting for an answer, she slapped you across the face. You struggled to remain emotionless; your face stung. 

You thought it was over, but then your father joined in.

“What’s this Jennifer? Is Olivia insulting your hard work?”

“It’s Y/N…” you muttered quietly. Your father overheard and put his face uncomfortably close to yours.

“As long as you’re living under my roof it will always be Olivia. And even if you could change your name, that doesn’t change your gender, freak,” he spat. 

“I know,” you whispered. 

He slapped you.

“Don’t talk back to me.”

Blinking back tears, you stood still as they walked away. Eventually, you remembered the duster in your hand. Placing it back on the shelf, you walked back up to your room, hoping you would be able to escape them for the rest of the night.

\-----

The next morning as you and Danny were walking to Julie’s house to go to school, you heard something you hadn’t heard in a long time: music. Julie was singing. 

“Wake up, wake up, if it’s all you do, look out, look inside of you, it’s not what you lost, it’s what you’ll gain raising your voice to the rain.” You smiled. It had been so long since you last heard her voice, and her music was a gift to the world. 

You walked into the studio alone, Danny having gone to talk to Carlos. Julie looked up with small tears in her eyes, seeing you standing there, smiling. She smiled back. 

“It’s so nice to hear you play again.”

Julie smiled wider. “Thanks.”  
Just then, Flynn burst in. 

“Carlos told me you’d be out here. We need to talk.” She crossed the room to where the two of you stood by the piano. 

“Are you okay?” you asked, noticing the tears running down her face. 

“No, I’m not okay! One of my best friends just got kicked out of music! I’ve been up all night thinking about what I was gonna say. Might’ve drank seven sodas, but I need to get this out.”

“Wait, I have something to tell you-”

“No. It’s my turn to talk.” Flynn took a deep breath. “You can’t give up music. You’re music’s like a gift, that would be a tragedy. So you’re basically, like, cancelling Christmas, and I love Christmas!”

“Flynn-” you started to say, but she cut you off. 

“Uh-uh! I don’t know why you’re siding with her, Y/N. I know you like hearing her play.”

You knew Flynn didn’t mean to hurt you, but her words stung a little. You nodded once and retreated back into yourself slightly. Flynn was too emotional (and sleep deprived) to notice. 

“When we were six, we promised to be in a band together. Double Trouble!”

“I never agreed to that name,” Julie said, laughing slightly.

“That’s not the point. Jules, if you leave the music program, we’ll be apart forever. That’s just what happens. Sure, we’ll see each other in the hall sometimes, but we’ll have different lives, make new friends…” Flynn said the last part quieter. You could tell she hated the thought of losing one of her best friends.

“That’s not true,” Julie reassured her, but Flynn wasn’t finished.

“You’re right. I won’t be making any new friends. I’ll only have Y/N, and they’re amazing but I’d miss you Jules! And the only time we’ll contact each other is when we’re liking each other’s posts on Instagram. Every time I’ll be hitting that little heart, my heart will be breaking because one of my best friend’s left me, and… do you have any soda? My head hurts.” 

“Can I talk now?” Julie asked tentatively. 

“Fine.”

“I just played the piano and sang again. Y/N can confirm it.” You nodded when Flynn looked at you excitedly. 

“What? Why didn’t you just say so?” She asked, practically bouncing with joy. 

“She was trying to, but then your seven soda’s kicked in,” you answered with a small laugh. 

Flynn was grinning from ear to ear now. “I’m so happy for you! And me! And Y/N!”

You all hugged, but Flynn pulled away quickly, gasping. “We need to tell Mrs. Harrison that you can play so you can stay in school and my life won’t be that sad picture I just painted for you!”

You giggled as Flynn put her arms around both of you. “Y/N, our girl’s back. Double Trouble lives again!”

“Still not our band name,” giggled Julie. 

\-----

“Did you end up getting back into the music program?” you asked Julie at the end of your study session for the day. She looked down at her shoes, and you knew what the answer would be before she said it:

“No. No I didn’t.”  
You tried not to look too disappointed for her sake. “Oh. I’m really sorry, Jules.”

“It’s…” she sighed. “It’s okay. I can reapply next semester.”

You hugged her. 

“Oh hey, I almost forgot to tell you,” she said right as you were about to walk out of the door. “We decided not to move.”

Despite the news that one of your best friends was no longer in the music program, a smile lit up your face. “That’s great!” you said, pulling her in for another quick hug. Then you walked out the door, not wanting to be late to pick up Danny. 

\-----

“Check it out, yeah we make ‘em say Wow!” Carrie bowed as her band, Dirty Candi, finished their dance number. You were at the spirit rally, saving a seat for Julie and Flynn, who were nowhere to be found. 

Suddenly Flynn plopped down beside you. 

“Oh hey, where were you?” you asked the girl.

She tried to blow a piece of hair out of her face, frowning slightly when it wouldn’t move. “I was in the band room. I wasn’t feeling very… spirt-y.” You both chuckled slightly. 

“Where’s Jules?” You looked around for the other girl, but couldn’t see her. 

As if in response to your question, music filled the gym as someone started to play the piano on the stage. You looked up to see Julie, alone on stage, with a spotlight on her. 

“Sometime’s I think I’m falling down, I wanna cry, I’m calling out, for one more try, to feel alive,” she sang, her voice echoing slightly as it filled the room. You smiled, happy she was singing again. 

Then suddenly, there were three boys on stage with her.  
“Whoa!” Flynn exclaimed.

“Where did those boys come from?” you asked in amazement. Julie seemed a little shocked that they were there too. One of them, the lead guitarist you guessed, started singing the second verse. 

“In times that I doubted myself, I felt like I needed some help,” he sang. 

“Whoa, he has a really good voice,” you said, your mouth hanging open slightly. 

You found yourself staring at him as the song went on. You could tell that he really enjoyed playing, and found yourself getting caught up in the music. 

“And rise, through the night, you and I, we will fight to shine together, bright forever!” Julie harmonized with the boys, finishing the song. You started clapping with the rest of the crowd that had gathered to watch, proud of your friend.

Then, as suddenly as they appeared, the boys were gone.


	2. Flying Solo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You are formally introduced to the boys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, things are starting to pick up now. 
> 
> tw death, tw knife

You gasped along with the rest of the crowd.

“How’d she do that?” you heard Flynn mutter. 

“Wait, were those holograms?” someone shouts. Julie looked relieved.

“Yes! Yes, they were holograms.” You knew her well enough to see that she was lying, but knew she must have her reasons. Right?

“Okay people, show’s over.” Principal Lessa started shooing people out of the gym and back to their classes.

You and Flynn hung back, wanting to talk to Julie.

Julie hopped off the stage after talking to Principal Lessa and Mrs. Harrison for a moment. You could tell she was excited. 

“Wow, you did it! Congrats,” you say, excited that Julie wasn’t going to be kicked out of the music program. 

“Thanks to you two.” Julie pulled the two of you into a brief hug. Flynn pulled away quickly. 

“Hey, you okay?” Julie asked her, frowning slightly. 

“Uh… I’m great,” she answered, smiling uneasily. “When… when did you start playing with a hologram band?”

“Oh! It was just one song. We’re not a band. They’re a band, a hologram band. Definitely holograms…”

“Yeah, we saw.” you said, trying to calm the tension clearly rising between your two best friends. 

Flynn kept staring at Julie, confused. “Why have you been keeping those cute boys a secret?”

“There’s a reason for that, it’s just… really crazy.” Julie was clearly trying to cover something up. You and Flynn gave each other a look that said “what’s going on with her?”.

“Oh, I’m all about crazy! Let’s hear it.” Now Flynn was just trying to get Julie to admit she was lying. 

Julie hesitated for a moment. “Okay. Um, so they’re… from Sweden!”

Your eyebrows shot up in surprise. 

“Yeah, turns out they’re not only great at making meatballs, but also good at making music. So, they play there, I stream them here, we play together, they leave and that’s it. So! Who’s excited I’m back in the music program!” Julie finished with jazz hands, desperately changing the topic.

“Jules, are you lying to us?” Flynn asked.

Julie dropped her act. “Yeah. Yeah I’m lying.”

The look of hurt on Flynn’s face said it all. “Since when do we lie to each other?”

You were hurt too, but you didn’t want to make the whole scene worse, so you said nothing. 

“Flynn… Y/N…. I’m sorry.”

Flynn scoffed. “‘I’m sorry’? That’s all you’ve got?” She grabbed your hand. “Come on, Y/N. Let’s go.”

“Flynn, wait! Y/N!” Julie called out after you. You looked back at her, your heart feeling heavy with Julie’s betrayal. 

\-----

“Flynn, where are we- ow!” you were cut off as Flynn pulled you down behind some bushes as a car passed. You pulled your hand away, rubbing your wrist. 

“Sorry, Y/N, I just…” She glanced around as if looking for something. 

Or someone. 

“It’s fine,” you said with a sigh. “So, where are we going?”

“To Julie’s house. Come on.” 

You ran the rest of the way, hiding every time you heard a car coming. You could tell Flynn was planning on doing something, but you had no idea what it was. 

She popped up from behind some bushes next to Julie’s house, looking around to make sure the coast was clear. She didn’t see Julie until it was too late.

“Flynn!” she called out. Grimacing because you two had been caught, Flynn gestured for you to come out of hiding. 

“And Y/N…” Julie added, slightly confused when you popped up next to Flynn. She shook her head, as if to clear it. “What are you guys doing here? I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“Well, not all over, ‘cause here we are,” Flynn stated dully as she started walking over to Julie. You followed her.

“I’ve been texting you both all day. The least you could have done is text me back!”

“Flynn stole my phone,” you defended yourself. 

“And I sent a poop emoji. I think it said everything. I was just leaving this.” Flynn pulled her Double Trouble t-shirt out of her backpack and tried to hand it back to Julie. “I won’t need it anymore.”

“I’m not taking it.”

“Fine. Then my dad can wash his car with it. Though all this betrayal on it might scratch his paint.” She shoved the shirt back in the bag. Julie flinched slightly at Flynn’s harsh words. 

“Look, I’m very sorry for not telling you,” Julie started. Flynn crossed her arms. “But I- I need you to know how important you both are to me! There’s no way I would have made it through this year if it wasn’t for you guys.”

“Yet it was three strangers who got you back into music. I don’t need someone in my life who lies and keeps things from me. Neither of us do.” Flynn grabbed your hand again. And started to walk away. 

“Goodbye, Julie,” you said softly before being dragged away by Flynn. 

Before you could get anywhere, however, Julie grabbed onto your other hand and pulled you and Flynn back.

“They’re ghosts.”

“Wh- what?” you asked, your nose wrinkling in shock and disbelief. 

“The boys in my band. They’re not holograms, they’re ghosts. And when we play together, people can see them.”

“What do you mean, ‘ghosts’? Like the kind that rattle chains and go ‘boo!’?” Flynn rolled her eyes.

“No, and I’m pretty sure that’s just a hurtful ghost stereotype. These guys are just normal dead dudes! Well…. Reggie’s a little questionable.” Julie defended herself. You were starting to get worried for her. Flynn pulled out her phone. 

“Who are you texting?” You and Julie asked together. You looked at each other and smiled slightly. 

Flynn rolled her eyes again. “Your dad. He told me to text him if I was worried about you and um…” she gestured to Julie. “I’m worried. You’re seeing things, Jules.”

“Flynn has a point, Jules,” you said.

Julie looked at you, annoyed. “All right. So you wanna be difficult.” She took the phone from Flynn’s hands. “Meet me in my mom’s studio in thirty minutes, and I’ll prove to you that I’m not crazy. And… please don’t text my dad.” She gave Flynn’s phone back to her. 

She sighed. “You have thirty minutes.”

Julie sighed and glanced down at Flynn’s bag.

“Eggs?” she asked, her face showing her confusion. “Why did you bring eggs?”

“Oh! Um…. no.” Flynn laughed awkwardly. “No. See, I grabbed those by mistake. It’s not like I was gonna convince Y/N to help me throw them at your bedroom window or anything…”

You elbowed her. “We were gonna do what?”

Julie just sighed and started walking to the studio. 

“Thirty minutes!” Flynn called after her. 

\-----

“Thanks for coming,” Julie said with a small laugh as she opened the doors to the studio. “We just wanted to rehearse the song so it was perfect, which it’s not, but whatever.”

“No, if we’re gonna hear a song from your imaginary ghost band, I want it to be perfect.” Flynn squeezed your hand. “So, get back in there. All of you. You too,” she added, pointing at the air, earning a laugh from you and Julie. 

“They’re not out here,” she explained. 

Flynn put her hand on Julie’s shoulder. “Oh I know,” was all she said before walking into the studio, hand-in-hand with you. 

“Uh, actually, could you guys go over there?” Julie asked, pointing to the couch. “Reggie needs some space to rock out, and he feels kinda weird walking through you.”

Flynn laughed. “Boy, when you create a world, you really live in it.”

“Just sit!” Julie said, pushing you down onto the couch.

“Now, if you’ll notice, there’s no equipment that will produce a hologram. Feel free to look around.”

You double checked, but Julie was right. The studio looked the same as it had when Rose was playing in it. You felt a slight pang in your chest as you thought of the woman who had become a second mom to you. 

Julie started talking again, bringing you out of your thoughts. “The guys took a poem I wrote about you both and put it to music.”

“Aww. I wish I didn’t have to talk to your dad after this.” Flynn crossed her arms. You smiled at Julie. You were concerned for her mental health, but it was sweet that she had written a poem about you and Flynn. 

“It’s called Flying Solo. Hope you like it.”

She started playing, and you felt yourself getting caught up in the song. 

“If I leave you on a bad note, leave you on a sad note, guess that means I’m buying lunch that day.”

It was a really sweet song, and you were vibing to it when the boys you had seen at the spirit rally suddenly appeared from thin air. Flynn screamed. You jumped back, startled by both the scream and the sudden appearance of the boys. 

They smiled at your and Flynn’s reactions, but continued playing with Julie, their voices blending together in harmony. 

When there was a brief interlude, Julie pulled you and Flynn off the couch and introduced you to the guys. The one in the orange beanie, Luke, crossed over to a microphone by the couch, smiling at you as he sang. 

Flynn walked over to the one in flannel, Reggie, and stuck her hand through his shoulder. 

“Weird, right?” he said with a smirk.

“They’re ghosts!” Flynn exclaimed.

Your eyes widening, you glanced over at Luke. Would your hand go through him?  
As if reading your thoughts, he stopped playing for a minute and held out his hand to you. After hesitating for a second, you tried to take it, only for your hand to slip right through his. 

“Whoa,” you breathed. Turning to look at Julie, wide eyed, you blurted out: “They are ghosts!”

Luke smirked.

“Oh, uh, we prefer the term ‘musician spirits’,” the one on the drums, Alex, said. 

Reggie pointed at Alex and nodded to show his agreement. 

“Julie?” Luke asked, a hint of nervousness in his voice. “So, does this mean you’re joining our band?”

“Uh, actually,” Flynn walked over to him with her hands on her hips. “I think you’re joining her band.”

Julie leaned on Flynn. “I’m gonna go with what she said.” You laughed. Luke, Alex, and Reggie smiled before continuing with the song. You stood up and danced with Julie and Flynn.

“My life, my life would be real low, zero, flying solo without you!” Julie belted as the song finished. You started clapping just as the rest of the band vanished. 

Julie smiled at you. “You still wanna talk to my dad?” she asked Flynn.

“No, I’m good,” the girl replied. All three of you giggled. 

“Oh!” you said, checking the time. “I have to go pick up Danny. I’ll see you guys later!” you said with a wave as you walked out of the studio. You had been in there so long that you hadn’t noticed the clouds covering the sun. 

You had made it about halfway to the field when it started to rain. It started lightly, but then all of a sudden, it was pouring. You cursed under your breath as you started running. Practice would be ending early. 

“Ugh!” you grunted as you tripped and fell into a puddle, pain coursing through your ankle. You weren’t sure if you would be able to stand on it, but you had to try. You had to get to Danny. 

Plus, you had the uneasy feeling that someone was watching you. 

“Oh dear, are you hurt?” asked a voice from behind you. You whipped your head around to find a tall man dressed in a shimmering black cloak-like coat, complete with a top hat. He kneeled down next to you. You weren’t exactly comfortable with him being there, infact he gave off a feeling of mystery and deceit, but you couldn’t exactly get up and leave.

“Oh, um, I’m alright, thank you, though,” you said, giving the man your sweetest smile. It was the one you used most often to hide behind. 

He glanced at your ankle, which you were holding with both hands, and frowned slightly. “Twisted ankle?”

You nodded. 

The man shook his head slightly before standing up and extending a hand to you. “Let me help you up.”

You took his hand gratefully, leaning on him slightly for support and wincing when you put weight on your ankle. 

“I’m sure it will be fine,” you said, looking at your ankle. “Thank you.”

You looked back up in time to see that the man had taken out a knife. Your eyes widened as he drove it into your heart.

You died without a sound.


	3. I Got The Music

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After landing back in Rose’s studio, you remember her and her kindness. The boys find you and try to comfort you. Julie finds out that she can still see you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I really suck at writing summaries. Also, this chapter is sort of divided into two parts, so the next part will be a sort of part 2 to this chapter. I'm not super happy with the ending of this chapter, but oh well.

You were falling, falling through nothing and everything at the same time. You screamed, but the sound died as soon as it left your mouth. There was nothing around you but blackness, the void surrounding you threatening to swallow you whole if it hadn’t already. 

And just as soon as it had begun, it stopped. 

You landed with a thud on the familiar floor of Julie’s studio. Grimacing with the pain of landing on a hard floor and the memories made here, you slowly sat up. Tears threatened to spill over as you remembered how things were before Rose died. 

\-----

“Come on in,” Julie said, setting down her backpack by the door. You hesitated before setting yours down as well. You had just moved to Los Angeles from Maine, so you didn’t have many friends yet. In fact, Julie and her best friend, Flynn, were your only friends. 

“Do you want anything to eat?” Julie asked, opening the fridge and pulling out a snack. 

“Oh, no thank you, I’m fine.” You smiled at the girl. 

“Mija, who’s this?” A woman, who you judged to be Julie’s mother, walked into the kitchen.

“Oh, mom, this is Olivia. She’s new,” Julie said, gesturing to you. You blushed slightly and went to shake the woman’s hand. 

“Hi, I’m Rose, Julie’s mom.”

“I’m Olivia. I- I hope it’s okay that I came over…”

“Of course! We love when Julie’s friends come over!” The woman smiled at you, kindness warming her eyes. You smiled genuinely for the first time in a long time.   
\-----

A few months later, you were seated at the piano in Rose’s studio, running your fingers over the keys admirably. 

“Oh, do you play?” the woman asked, walking in to check on you, Julie, and Flynn, who were doing their homework over on the couch. 

“Oh! Oh, no, I don’t.” You found yourself stepping away from the piano as Rose walked over to it. 

“Would you like to learn how?”

Your eyes widened as you nodded yes. Rose laughed slightly and waved you back over. Hesitantly, you sat down next to the woman. 

She placed her hands on top of yours, guiding your fingers in playing your first ever piano piece. The melody was hauntingly beautiful. You held your breath as she helped you play, not wanting to disturb the magic that was clearly there. Even the birds had stopped singing to listen. 

She pulled her hands away as the last note echoed around the room. You looked at her with wide eyes.

“Help me play it again.”

She laughed. Getting up from the piano bench, she walked over to a box filled with paper. Pulling a piece out, she handed it to you. 

“Here’s the sheet music for it, so you can play it anytime.” She smiled at you, but frowned slightly as you stared at the paper. “Do you know how to read sheet music?”

You looked at her and nodded, your eyes still wide. “This…. This is handwritten,” you started, gesturing to the piece of paper you held in your hands. “Did you write it?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Wow,” you breathed, even more in awe of the woman then you were before. “I’m gonna practice it every day that I can so I never forget it!”

The woman chuckled. “You’re already a natural. You’ll have it perfected in no time.”

You blushed slightly as she walked out of the studio. 

\-----

Over the next few months, you grew even closer to the Molina family, hanging out at their house and in the studio everyday. Sometimes you even brought Danny with you, and on those nights you slept over at their house. 

Danny and Carlos had become best friends, just as you, Julie, and Flynn had. They had become a family to you. 

Which made you more nervous to tell them that you were non-binary. 

You started off telling just Julie and Flynn, one day after school. You were shaking with nerves, and nothing they could say would help calm you down.

Eventually, you just said it. 

They stared at you for a minute, in which your mind didn’t hesitate to remind you that they probably hated you now and you were going to lose your best friends. But after that second, they both hugged you tightly.

“Y/N, we’re so happy for you!!” Flynn said. Your face broke into a huge smile hearing her say your name for the first time. 

“Thanks guys,” was all you could manage to get out, too happy to speak. 

“Do you wanna tell my parents, or do you not want them to know yet, or do you want me to tell them?” Julie asked. Your nerves rose again at the thought of telling her parents, even though you knew they would be accepting.   
“Could- could you tell them? I’d like to be there, though.”

Julie smiled again as she grabbed your hand and pulled you off her bed. 

“Hey!” you complained, laughing slightly. You grabbed onto Flynn’s hand, pulling her with you.

“Mom, Dad,” Julie said, slightly out of breath after running down the stairs. “This is Y/N, and they use they/them pronouns.” She gestured to you.

“We’re so proud of you, mija!” Rose said, pulling you into a hug. Ray was standing right behind her, his arms open for a hug as well. You fell into him, crying from happiness.

“Thank- thank you all.” You felt as though you might burst from the love and happiness that was in the room at that moment. 

\-----

You rode that high for months. All the way up until Rose died. 

You rememered that vividly, as well. The sirens, wailing and flashing, squeezing your eyes shut and covering your ears to try to block out the light and sound of everything going on around you. The shocking realization that Rose was gone.

You shuddered, tears streaming down your face as you tried to push the thoughts of her death away. Then it hit you: you were gone, too. Dead. Killed by a strange man in a black coat. 

You were so caught up in your own thoughts that you didn’t realize the three boys that had come into the studio. 

“Hey, are you okay?” one of the boys asked, causing you to jump. 

“Oh, oh, um, yeah! I’m fine,” you said, slipping back into yourself and giving them your sweet smile again. 

“Well, okay, um, cause we saw you crying and just wanted to make sure-” the one with the beanie, Luke started. Then he frowned. “Wait, you can- you can see and hear us?”

You nodded, trying your hardest to keep the smile on your face. 

“But… but how?”

You couldn’t take it anymore. You broke down sobbing, sliding your back against the wall until you were curled up on the floor, your body passing through a table.

“Whoa, how’d you do that? How’d they do that? It’s almost like they’re- oh.” Reggie grew quiet as the realization that you were a ghost hit him. 

Luke walked over to you and put a hand on your arm, causing you to flinch away. 

“Oh, uh, sorry,” he said awkwardly, pulling his hand back. You shook your head slightly, trying to compose yourself.

“It- it’s okay,” you said, hiccuping slightly. “I just don’t like people touching me sometimes.”

The boy nodded. You pushed yourself up into a sitting position, whiping away your tears. 

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Alex asked you. You shook your head, thankful for the boy's presence, but dreading the question that you knew one of them would ask. 

Luke stood up and offered you a hand. You flinched again, remembering what had happened the last time someone had helped you up, but took it shakily. 

You hadn’t noticed it before, but there was a strange melody playing in the back of your head. You brushed it off, however. You always had a song stuck in your head. 

“So, uh, how’d you die?” Reggie asked. The other boys glared at him. “What? I’m just curious.”

“It...it’s alright, Reggie,” you said, sighing. “I- I fell into a puddle, and this man helped me up, and then he…” you trailed off, looking over at Reggie. “He stabbed me.”

“Oh,” he said quietly. You felt Luke’s gase on you, and turned to look at him, suddenly very aware that he had not taken his hand out of yours after he helped you up. 

“Agh!” You cried out as pain coursed through your ankle, gripping Luke’s hand tighter. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice laced with worry.

“Oh, it’s nothing, I just twisted my ankle falling into the puddle.” You felt your face heating up as you realized how close you were to Luke; almost falling had brought you almost face to face with him. 

It seemed like he realized it too, because he cleared his throat and stepped away, letting go of your hand. 

“Hey guys,” Julie said, walking into the studio, but stopping when she saw you. “Y/N? I thought you had to take Danny home.”

Your eyes widened as tears threatened to spill yet again. “I-”

“It’s okay, Y/N.” Luke said, stepping up to you again. 

“No, no it’s not! I need to be there for him, I need to protect him…”

“Oh, hey, it’s okay, I didn’t mean to-'' Julie cut herself off. She started walking towards you, opening her arms for a hug. You opened your arms as well, put instead of a hug, all you got was a weird feeling as she passed right through you.

“What the…” Her eyes widened as she turned to face you. “You’re… you’re dead? But how? I just saw you like, half an hour ago…”

“They were stabbed.” Alex spoke up. Julie looked at you for confirmation, tears welling up in her eyes. You nodded. 

“Julie, please…” You walked over to your first friend in Los Angeles and let your hands hover over hers. “Please take care of Danny for me. Bring him here. Kidnap him, if you have to. Just don’t let him live with them.”

Julie nodded. “I- I’ll go get him right now,” she said, already heading for the doors. You smiled, at her, silently thanking her as she headed out into the rain. 

“So, uh, we didn’t get a chance to talk much earlier,” Luke commented, walking over to the couch. “What do you do for fun?”

“Um, I usually read, or draw, or listen to music,” you said somewhat awkwardly. You didn’t list the one that you loved most, but could never do. Sing. “My parents wouldn’t let me do that often, though.”

Luke frowned. “Why not?”

“Well, most of the time I didn’t even have time to. I had to cook dinner, clean, help Danny with his homework, do my homework…” 

You moved into a chair, sitting with perfect posture and your legs crossed. 

“This isn’t a job interview, Y/N,” Luke said with a slight laugh. “You can relax.”

You laughed at yourself. “Sorry, it’s just how I was conditioned to sit.” Your face froze as you realized you had said too much. 

“What do you mean, conditioned?”

You shook your head. “I’m really not supposed to talk about it.”

“Why not? You’re dead. Your parents rules don’t apply anymore.”

Your lip quirked upward in a sort of small smile. He was right, your parents couldn’t hurt you anymore. You twisted in the chair so that your legs were draping over the armrest. Reggie sat on the floor near Luke, leaning against the couch. Alex stood behind the couch. 

“No they don’t, but I still don’t want to talk about it.”

Luke shrugged. “Fair enough.”

“What about you?” you asked, playing with your hair. “What do you do for fun?”

“Write, mostly.”

That was intriguing. “Write what?”

“Music.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Tell you about… how we write music?” 

“Yeah! I wanna hear what it’s like.”

“Well, uh, okay then.”

\-----

The sun beat down on the pavement outside of the studio. 

“Oh, hey Danny,” you heard Flynn say. Julie had told her to come over after she asked about you. She didn’t want to tell Flynn in public that their best friend had died.

You were growing nervous. How would she react? What would she say? Would you still be able to talk, with Julie telling her everything you said? What-

You were cut off from your thoughts as Flynn walked into the studio. 

“Oh, hey Y/N! Are you okay? You weren’t in school today, and you didn’t text me all weekend.”

You gaped at her. 

“What? Is there something wrong with my outfit?” she asked with a slight laugh.

“You...you can see me,” you said in shock.

She looked confused. “Of course I can see you. Why wouldn’t I- wait…” She walked over to you, an idea in her head. She tried to hold your hand, only for it to fall through. She backed away from you slightly, her worst fears confirmed. “You’re…… a ghost.”


	4. The Hollywood Ghost Club

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys learn about Bobby, and drag you along to haunt him. They also drag you along to the Hollywood Ghost Club

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long, I didn’t write for a few days, and I didn’t expect this chapter to be so long. please tell me if you catch any mistakes, because once again, i did not edit this. also please tell me (on anon or not!) if there is a trigger warning you want tagged. hope you enjoy!

“You’re…… a ghost,” Flynn said, her face morphing from confusion, to surprise, to something that looked like regret.

You nodded glumly. 

“So that’s why you weren’t in school today? Because you died?” she shook her head. “I can’t believe this. I- I need a minute.” She ran out of the garage. 

Your face fell out of the expression you didn’t realize you had been putting on for Flynn. Taking a deep breath, you sat down on the couch, not knowing what to do.

“Hey, Y/N, I-” Julie stopped when she saw you. “You okay?”

“Huh? Oh, oh yeah, I’m fine,” you lied. You could tell that Julie didn’t believe you, but she didn’t push. You were thankful. You didn’t even know what was off.

“Okay, well, I just wanted you to know that Danny’s staying in Carlos’s room now.”

“Really?” you asked, standing up. “Thank you Jules!” you went to hug the girl, but then remembered you were made of air. 

“Yeah, no problem,” Julie said, trying to make what you had accidentally created a bit less awkward. “Well, I gotta go do homework. I guess that’s one perk to being dead, you don’t have to do school anymore.” She laughed a little as she waved goodbye. 

That was true. You had a lot more freetime now. Maybe even time to sing?

Looking around to make sure no one was there, you closed your eyes and could practically hear the start of your favorite song. You started singing along, quietly at first, but soon you were belting it out at the top of your lungs and dancing all around the room, passing through the furniture that was in your way. 

The song ended, and you smiled, happy for the first time in a while. Before you could continue on to the next song, your moment of bliss was interrupted. 

“I didn’t know you could sing,” Luke said from his spot in the doorway. You jumped slightly. You had been so caught up in the music that you didn’t notice him watching you. 

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said, stepping into the studio. “That was really good.”

You felt your face heating up. “Thanks,” you said quietly. It was the first time you had been complimented on your voice, never having the guts to sing anywhere outside of the school choir. 

“Do you sing much?” he asked, moving to sit on the couch. 

“Um, not really, no.” You sat next to him. “My parent’s wouldn’t let me. I only sang in the ensemble for the school choir.”

“Wow. That was amazing for someone who doesn’t sing much.” You felt yourself blush slightly. He smiled at you. 

“Hey, um, would you wanna join the band?” he asked, fidgeting with his rings. 

Your eyes widened. “Join- join Julie and the Phantoms? I, I’d be honored to, but what about Alex and Reggie?”  
“What about them?”

“Well, shouldn’t they get a say in it? Julie too? I mean, it’s their band, too.”

Luke waved his hand dismissively. “I’m sure once they hear you sing, they’ll agree with me.”

You bit your lip. “Even if I did join, there’s a risk of someone recognizing me. How are you going to explain that the dead kid is singing on stage with Julie?”

“I’m not. Julie would explain that,” Luke smirked, earning a playful glare from you. “Seriously though, you could wear a disguise or something. I mean, you said you just moved here a few years ago and you’re pretty shy, so most people don’t know you, right?”

“Maybe….” You knew that someone was bound to recognize you, but decided that it was a problem for Future You to figure out. “Alright, I’ll join.”

Luke bounced up. “Yessss!” he exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air. You squeaked slightly when he pulled you into a tight hug. “Sorry,” he said, loosening his grip. You smiled at him, letting him know it was fine. “Welcome to the band.”

\-----

“We’re playing a school dance? Sweet!” Reggie said, looking at the poster Julie had shown you. 

“It’s not exactly the Strip,” Luke muttered, making you roll your eyes slightly.

“And you’re not exactly alive, so you should be happy we have our first gig,” Reggie retorted. 

“I wasn’t in love with the idea at first either,” Julie admitted, “but it could be a great way for us to build a following, right?”

“Yeah, we need to play wherever we can, whenever we can,” you said, nodding at Julie. 

She raised an eyebrow at you. “We?” 

You felt your heart start to speed up as you realized you had accidentally told her you joined the band. Luckily, Luke saved you from having to explain yourself. 

“Ye- yeah, we. I invited Y/N to join the band earlier. I hope that was okay,” he said, throwing an arm around your shoulders and hugging you to his side. 

Julie nodded hesitantly. “It’s fine, I just wish you had asked us first.” Reggie nodded his agreement. 

“I know, and I’m really sorry-” you started, but Julie cut you off. 

“It’s fine, Y/N, really.” She smilied at you. 

Luke smiled. “Let’s rock those kid’s faces off! And then play the clubs.”

“And then record a single that gets a billion streams?” you said hopefully.

“I don’t know what that is, but hopefully it gets us a manager and a tour,” Luke said with a smirk.

“And then we release a bunch of hit albums!” Julie said excitedly. 

“Put out a country album that does surprisingly well.” You all stared at Reggie. “I shred on the banjo,” he shrugged. 

“Then I’ll learn how to fiddle,” Julie said, fist bumping him. 

“And before you know it, we’re being inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall Of Fame!”

“But one of us isn’t there,” you said somewhat ominously. “Because we had a blow-out in 2032.”

“My money’s on Alex. He’s just so sensitive,” Reggie said, making you laugh slightly. 

“What are we waiting for, let’s get rehearsing!” Luke said eagerly.  
“Uh… where is Alex?” Julie asked just as he poofed back into the room. 

“Oh, hey Alex. Where’ve you been?” you asked the drummer. He looked slightly out of breath, and had a faint glow of happiness to him. 

“We need to start practicing,” Luke said, slightly annoyed.

“Yeah? For what?”

“Dance news!” Flynn called out as she walked in. “I don’t have a date. But I don’t care because I’m so psyched to see you guys perform.”

“Oh man, we’re playing a dance?” Alex asked, his disappointment evident in his voice. 

“Of course dude. That’s how we get a following nowadays.” Luke sat in the chair behind him. You laughed quietly. 

“Yeah, get with the program, Alex,” Julie laughed along with you. 

“What? The guys are here? Hey guys!” Flynn waved in the wrong direction. 

“Other way, sweetie,” you chuckled. “They’re sitting over here, with me.”

“Oh, yeah.” Flynn said quietly and waved in your direction. Reggie waved back.

“Okay, well, now that Alex has graced us with his presence, can we start working?” Luke asked, impatient.

“Yes! We’re gonna rehearse, you wanna stick around?” Julie asked Flynn, who frowned slightly. 

“I’m supposed to blow up 500 balloons for the school dance, but this sounds way better.”

Just then, Carlos burst into the studio and accidentally walked through Alex. “Hey Julie! Remember those orbs in dad’s pictures? I…. I think they’re ghosts.”

You, Julie, and the guys all shared a look. 

“But don’t worry,” Carlos continued, scanning the room. “This room is…. Is….” You sat forward slightly, waiting to hear his verdict. “This room is clear. I’m not getting the ghost tinglies.”

“Wrong again, little dude,” Reggie laughed. 

“Have no fear. If they come back, I will protect you because I am the man of the house.”

You laughed. “Isn’t Ray supposed to be the man of the house?”

“Isn’t dad supposed to be the man of the house?” Julie asked, echoing you. You smirked. 

Carlos crossed his arms. “There can be two,” he muttered, causing you to laugh again. “Dad needs all the help he can get, right?”

He held up a salt shaker. “According to the internet, this burns their souls out. A little sprinkle will keep them from ever coming in here.”

Your eyes widened with fear. It couldn’t possibly be true, could it? Taking no chances, you pulled your legs up into the chair you were sitting in as Carlos threw some salt your way. 

“No!”Alex screamed as some salt hit him. “Nooo! Oh god, I’m…. I’m fine. I’m totally fine,” he said when nothing happened to him. You sighed in relief.

“Flynn, could you…?” you asked, nodding your head to indicate taking Carlos out of the studio. In times like these it was useful to be a ghost that only some people could see. 

“Hey, Carlos, you know who’s hungry? Me,” she said, taking your hint. “Um, salt me a path to the kitchen.”

“Shall we try this again?” Julie asked once they were gone.

“Yes please, but remind us later. There’s some Sunset Curve songs that we wanna show you,” Luke said, standing up again. 

“Oooo, show me now,” Julie said, pushing away her microphone. 

“Yeah, okay!” Luke said, putting down his guitar and walking over to his journal. He took a paper out of it and read the title of the song: “‘Home Is Where My Horse Is’. Reggie, stop putting your country songs in my journal.”

“That was a gift,” Reggie said, winking at you. 

“Thanks, buddy.” Ignoring Reggie as he tried to get Luke to look at the song, he walked over to Julie and handed her his journal. You walked over to look over her shoulder. “I dog-eared the ones I think you would slay.”

“Who’s Emily?” You asked, the name catching your eye as Julie flipped through the pages. 

“That one’s not dog-eared,” Luke said, frantically trying to get the journal back. Julie held it to her chest. You mouthed “sorry” at him as he looked at you.

“‘If you could only know that I’d never let you go’,” Julie read out loud. “Wow Luke, I didn’t know you were such a romantic.”

“He’s not,” Alex said, walking over. “That one’s actually about-”

“No one.” Luke cut him off. “Uh, that’s just something that I tried…” Was it your imagination, or did his eyes flicker over to you? “B- but if you go to the next dog-eared page, I got a tune that’s just…. It’s got a killer beat.”

He started playing the song on his guitar. You tilted your head to the side, sure that you had heard the song before. 

“So you wanna sample,” Julie spoke up, cutting Luke off. You realized where you had heard it before. It had been one of Rose’s favorite songs. 

Luke scoffed. “What do you mean, ‘sample’?”

“Sample someone else’s music,” you chimed in. 

“My mom and I used to sing that song at the top of our lungs in the car all the time.” 

“It’s a classic Trevor Wilson song.” 

Julie nodded, thankful that you knew what she was talking about.

“Nope.” Luke picked up his notebook. “It’s a classic our song.”

“Pure Sunset Curve,” Reggie said with a smile. “I’ve never even heard of Trevor Wilson.”

“Yeah, maybe you’re mixing it up, you know, with another song,” Alex said. 

“Julie doesn’t mix up songs,” you said. “Trust me.”

“Yeah, me and his daughter used to be best friends. We used to hang out at their place all the time! I know that song.” You looked at Julie. Having moved to Los Angeles after Julie and Carrie stopped being friends, you forgot sometimes that they used to like each other. 

“Here,” she said, pulling out her computer. “I’ll prove it.”

“His first album had a bunch of hits, but none of his later stuff is as good,” you said while Julie searched his name.

The boys gasped as she turned the computer around. You looked at her in confusion. 

“That’s Bobby,” Luke said.

“Seriously? I just told you his name is Trevor,” you said, slightly concerned for his memory. 

“Okay, so he changed it, alright? That’s definitely Bobby. He was our rhythm guitarist.” Alex spoke up. Reggie stood still, clearly in shock. 

Julie scoffed. “Trevor Wilson was in your band?”

“I can’t get over how old he looks…” Reggie finally said. 

“Oh, he looks like a substitute teacher,” Alex said in disgust. 

You looked at Julie in confusion again. Sure, you had had a few bad substitutes, but you didn’t think it was enough to be an insult. 

“Julie… what were his other hits?” Luke asked hesitantly. 

“”Get Lost’.”

“Yeah. I wrote that.”

“‘Long Weekend’?”

“Yeah, Luke wrote that one too,” Reggie spoke up. You and Julie looked at him, the surprise evident on her face. 

“‘Crooked Teeth’?”

“And that,” Alex said. “It was about Reggie.”

“What?” Reggie exclaimed, shocked and slightly hurt. “I thought that was about you! I don’t like that song anymore.” You held in a laugh. 

“Wait… this is freaking me out. Trevor’s songs are kind of big to me,” Julie explained as Luke picked up some darts. “He’s the one who introduced me to rock.”

“Yeah, and Julie introduced me to rock using his music,” you said. You were freaking out a little too. You loved Trevor’s songs, so it was pretty weird to think that the ghosts standing in front of you had actually written them. 

“Yeah, Luke introduced you to rock,” Alex scoffed. 

“So this whole time, I thought you were connected to my mom. But instead, you’re connected to Carrie’s dad? Out of all the people, it had to be the one girl who had it out for me.”

“All right, well, add it to our list of questions,” you muttered. 

“Back when Carrie and I were friends, the three of us used to talk about music all the time.” Julie looked at the guys. “He never mentioned you guys.”

“And that’s unbelievable!” Luke said, throwing another dart at the board. “He can take all the credit and he doesn’t even mention us?” Reggie shook his head slightly. 

“And he’s rich,” you said. The boys all looked at you. “He has his own helicopter.”

“With his face on it,” Julie added.

“And he parks it in front of that hotel?” Reggie asked in shock. 

“No. He gets to park it in front of his mansion.” You rolled your eyes. 

“Mansion?” Reggie’s voice cracked. 

“Dude, we live in a garage,” Alex spoke up.

“It’s not about the money, it’s about the music!” Luke said, but it sounded like he was trying to convince himself as much as anyone else.

“It’s a little bit about the money though!”

“A little bit about the money!”

“He could have shared it with our families! Maybe then my parents wouldn’t have had their house turned into a bike shack!”

“What he did is steal our legacy.” 

You felt really bad for them. You couldn’t even imagine how it would feel if you had worked that hard on something, and then someone stole it. 

Luke turned to Julie. “Where does he live.”

She sighed. “Above the beach in Malibu. 

“Let’s go teach him a lesson,” Reggie said. The boy’s face was usually so kind and bouncy, but now it was stone cold. 

“Wait, what? Guys! We have to rehearse for our dance! This is our first gig, and Y/N’s first time singing with us!” Julie said frantically, standing up. 

Alex glanced at you in confusion, and you remembered you hadn’t told him yet about you joining the band. 

Before you could say anything, however, Luke grabbed your hand and poofed out. 

\-----

“Bobby’s house is ridiculous!” Alex exclaimed as you looked around.

“Have you seen these platinum records?” you asked.

Reggie turned and looked at them. “Platinum?”

Luke was staring at a different set of records. “He recorded ‘My Name Is Luke’...” he muttered. “My name is Luke!”

Just then a man walked in wearing sunglasses and a leather jacket.

“It’s him!” Reggie said. 

“Hey, Carrie! I’m gonna meditate!” Bobby called out. 

“He wears sunglasses indoors,” Reggie said, disgusted. 

“I’m in the den!” Carrie called out. 

“Cool!” Bobby called out before going upstairs. 

Reggie shook his head. “I can’t stand him!”

“Time for his past to haunt him,” Luke said, a scowl on his features. 

He started up the stairs, with Reggie following him and you following a bit more hesitantly.

“Wait!” Alex called out, making you all turn around. “You know, it’s my…. It’s my first time haunting someone. I wanna make it special.”

You looked at him, confusion written on your face. “Okay, Alex,” you said before turning around and continuing up the stairs, Luke and Reggie joining you. 

“Yeah, that was weird, okay,” you heard him mutter as he followed you. 

You made your way into Bobby’s room, where he sat with candles lit. 

“Agh!” you said as you felt another jolt of pain flair through your ankle. The boys looked at you, concerned. You shook your head to let them know you were fine. It was the weirdest thing, it’s like it flared up when it was the most inconvenient….

You watched the boys giggle as Luke gave Bobby a wet willy.

You and Alex snuck over to the candles, forgetting for a moment that no one could see you, and blew them out. 

Reggie turned on the music player, which started playing a rock song. Bobby walked over and turned it off, but Reggie just turned it back on, causing Bobby to unplug it. 

You hadn’t noticed Luke sneaking away, but he was gone when the shower turned on a moment later. 

“Carrie?” Bobby asked. You giggled with the boys.

Bobby walked into the bathroom to see the shower running just as Luke turned it off. The mirror across from the shower was now foggy, and perfect for a ghost to write on.

“Ooo, Luke, you should write ‘Hello, Bobby’ on it!” you suggested through a fit of giggles. Reggie pointed at you to show his agreement. 

Grinning, Luke wrote on the mirror in his best creepy handwriting, which also happened to be his best handwriting. 

Bobby tried to run out of the bathroom, but Alex held the door shut.

“Let… Me…. Out!!” he shouted. Alex finally let go of the door and Bobby practically fell out of the room, causing all of you to laugh.

Luke grabbed your hand again and you poofed down to the patio just as Bobby was leaving. You watched as his helicopter flew over your heads. 

“Oh! Quick, let’s moon him before he gets too far away,” Reggie said, causing you to roll your eyes. 

“He can’t see us,” you reminded them.

“Oh it’s not for him, it’s for us,” Luke said as he pulled down his pants. You averted your eyes. 

“So, did you guys have fun in there?” Julie asked, storming outside. 

“Okay, you’d do the exact same if he stole all of your songs,” Luke defended them. 

“But you guys have new songs. With me. The best way to get back at Trevor is for this band to do great. And to do great, we have to play at dances, then clubs-”

“And tours, I know.” Luke walked up to her. Julie still looked mad.

“I’ll see you guys at the school. We go on at nine. Please don’t be late. There’s gonna be a lot of people there.”

“We got it, alright? Don’t worry,” Alex said. 

Julie sighed as she headed back inside. 

“I don’t care what Julie says! I’m glad we scared Bobby,” Reggie said with a small grin. “We should’ve done more! Like… like written ‘thief’ on his forehead.”

“And Alex, how did you shut the door earlier? You could barely open a garage door,” you asked, confused. 

Reggie looked at his friend, proud of him. “Learned that from your new friend Willie, didn’t ya?”

Alex blushed slightly. “Yeah, well, he taught me some things, we screamed in a museum…” he caught the look of confusion on your face. “It’s a long story.”

Luke smirked. “You think he has a few other tricks up his sleeve?”

“Let’s find out,” Alex said with a shrug. 

\-----

You landed near a beach, a boy on a skateboard coming to a stop in front of you. 

“Hey, what’s up man?” he said to Alex, doing a short handshake. “You brought friends.”

“Yeah, these are my bandmates, Luke, Reggie, and Y/N.”

“Cool, I’m Willie. So, you guys here to learn some tricks?” He waved his hand in the direction of two police fourwheelers, making their sirens go off. 

Reggie’s mouth hung open. “Do it again!”

“Actually, we were thinking a little bigger,” Luke said. “An old bandmate stole from us and we wanna confront him, face to face.”

“Alright, is this, uh, friend of yours a lifer?” Willie asked. 

“Oh, that’s fancy ghost lingo for the living,” Alex said before you could ask. “Little something I picked up.”

You caught Willie smiling at Alex. 

“Ah! Then yeah, he’s a lifer,” Reggie said, using the fancy ghost lingo he had just been taught. “Too much of a fancy-pants for street dogs.”

You snorted. “Wait, that’s how you guys died?” Julie had never told you, and you had just never discussed it with them. 

“Uh, that’s not important-” Luke started to say, but Willie cut him off.

“Wait, you didn’t die with them?”

“Uh, no,” you said, trying to stop laughing. “Some guy killed me.”

Willie winced. “Ouch.” You nodded. 

“Anyways,” Luke said, trying to get the conversation back on track. “Can you help us?”

“Yeah, I’m sorry,” Willie said, shaking his head. “Speaking to lifers is even out of my lead.” The guy’s faces fell. “You know, but there is one ghost who might be able to help you guys. He’s kind of a big deal…”

“Literally, anything would help,” Luke said. 

“Oh, alright. Well, um, I gotta take care of some things, but I’ll meet you where Alex and I met, eight o’clock. See ya.” He skated away. 

\-----

“Right this way,” Willie said, leading you into a huge ballroom-type room.

“Whoa,” Luke muttered. “So this is where your hot-shot ghost lives, huh?”

“Yeah, we’ve walked past this hotel like, a million times. How come we’ve never heard of it?”Alex asked. 

“That’s because this area has been sealed off for decades,” Willie said with a grin. “I mean, you wouldn’t even know this place exists unless you’re invited. Alright, I gotta go make sure everything’s cool, but I’ll be right back.” He turned and disappeared into the crowd. 

You inhaled sharply as the pain in your ankle flared up again. Luke looked over at you, confused, and you pointed to your ankle. He nodded, understanding.

“‘The Hollywood Ghost Club’?” Reggie asked, oblivious to what had just happened between you and Luke. “Man, this place is creepy.”

“Yeah, well, so are we.” Alex smiled.

“I don’t know about this,” you muttered. 

“Well, if you get scared, you can always hide behind me,” Alex said. “I’ll be hiding behind Luke.”

“You guys need to grow up, okay?” Luke said as Alex moved behind him. “We’re gonna get back at Bobby. He needs to pay for what he did to us.”

“Yeah.” Alex said. Then he whispered to you: “I’m still gonna hide behind him.”

Just then, Willie came back. “We’re all good!” he said with a smile. 

“Oh, uh, cool,” Alex said, flustered. “Hey, just so you know, we have like, an hour. We’ve got a gig with Julie.”

“Oh yeah, no worries.”

“Cool.”

“Let’s go.”

You all walked down the stairs, taking in all the fancy clothing people were wearing. Well, the four of you walked. Willie slid down the railing. 

“I think we’re a little overdressed,” Luke said. You smirked.

Suddenly a woman walked through Alex. 

“Whoa! I thought these people were all going to be ghosts,” Reggie said. 

“Nope. These are all lifers.” Willie gestured to the entirety of the club. 

“Oh, uh, lifers are actually-”

“Alive people, I was listening,” Reggie said, cutting off Alex with a smirk. 

“But this is a very exclusive crowd. Everybody here has uh, paid a lot to get a sneak peak at the afterlife.”

“I always knew rich people did weird stuff like this,” Reggie muttered, making you laugh. 

A ghost appeared behind you. 

“Gentleman, my lady,” he stopped and looked at you a moment. “I have a table for you.” Your heart sank as he misgendered you, but you didn’t correct him. 

“Oh, uh, Y/N here is actually non-binary,” Luke said. You beamed at him. 

“My apologies, gentlefolk. Right this way.”

You followed him to a reserved table in the front, right in front of the stage. 

Luke pulled out a chair for you to sit. You blushed. You also squealed internally when you noticed Willie do the same for Alex. 

“Okay, so who’s gonna make us visible so we can confront our old bandmate?” Luke asked Willie once everyone was seated. You looked around in wonder at the club.

“Oh, no, no. None of these lifers have the power to do that.” Dramatic music started to play out of nowhere. You thought you recognized the melody, although you couldn’t quite place it. “Oh, but here comes the ghost who does!”

“Ladies and gentleman,” boomed a voice from nowhere and everywhere at the same time, “back from the dead by popular demand, Caleb Covington!”

Willie cheered along with the rest of the club’s members as a man appeared floating above the stage. 

“Did you miss me?” he asked.

You gasped, your eyes widening.

“What?” Luke asked you. “What’s wrong?”

You turned to him with fear in your eyes. “That’s him.”

“Who?”

“The man who killed me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did a little research for this, and gentlefolk is the (official?) gender neutral term for gentleman! :D


	5. The Other Side Of Hollywood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and the boys go to the Hollywood Ghost Club

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m going to be trying to write as much as I can this week because school starts up again next week. After that I won’t have a break until summer vacation, so I’m not sure how much writing I’ll get done. I’ll do my best to keep writing, though!

“That’s him,” you said to Luke, your eyes wide.

“Who?”

“The man who killed me.”

Luke looked at you in shock. “What?”

You didn’t answer him, however. You were staring at the man with a mixture of shock and terror as he started singing and moved towards you. 

You gripped the edges of your chair in horror as you realized you recognized the song. It was the one you had been hearing in the back of your mind since you died. 

“Let me introduce myself, we got some time to kill,” the man sang, moving closer to your table. “Consider me the pearly gates to your new favorite thrills.”

You could feel the music pulling at you, trying to get you to join in, but you held back. Caleb narrowed his eyes slightly as he spotted you.

“We could go make history, or you could rest in peace. But here there ain’t no misery, ‘cause on the other side we live like kings.”

The pulling was becoming so powerful it hurt. You squeezed your eyes shut.

“Whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do?

Let your body loose, let your body loose.

Whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do?

Show you a thing or two, cause you ain’t seen nothing!”

You couldn’t hold out any longer. You felt the wooshing sensation of teleporting, and suddenly you were on the stage with a bunch of other people you could only assume were ghosts. Your clothes had changed, too. You were wearing a two-piece that revealed way too much in your opinion. It was mostly the color of Caleb’s suit, with a few black highlights. You looked like a matching set with him. 

You had no control over your body as you danced around him. The audience was loving it, clapping and cheering. 

And suddenly, you were singing.

“Everything has got a price, but happiness is free. 

Just so happens you’re in luck, we got a vacancy.”

Caleb joined you, your voices blending perfectly together as you danced. “We can set the night on fire and break out of the scene!

Your soul print on the walk of fame on the boulevard of your wildest dreams!”

You broke away from him and jumped onto the boy’s table, dancing on top of it. 

“Whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do, boys?”

“Let your body loose, let your body loose.”

“Whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do, boys?”

Your foot almost hit Reggie’s face, but Caleb stopped it just in time. 

“Ain’t bragging if it’s true, no you ain’t seen nothing!

Life is good on the other side of Hollywood! 

Life is good on the other side of Hollywood!

So welcome to the brotherhood where you won’t be misunderstood!

Life is good on the other side of Hollywood!”

You danced around the stage, most often by the boys table. Even though they were seated in the middle, you didn’t think that was a coincidence. 

You belted out the lyrics along with Caleb, until the end when he disappeared behind a sheet. Everyone, including the boys, stood and clapped as you took a bow. 

Suddenly you were back at your table, in your regular clothes. 

Luke looked at you in shock. “How’d you do that?” 

“I don’t know,” you said with a frown. You didn’t know if he meant the dancing or the singing or, well, whatever had just happened, but you had the same answer for all the questions. 

“This is so cool!!” Reggie waved at some lifers across the club. 

“Man, dude, I knew I recognized him! He’s the guy who bumped into me outside the Orpheum,” Alex said. 

“Wait, isn’t he that magician dude that died a horrible death doing a trick?” Reggie asked, causing you to laugh.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t really bring that up when we meet him.”

“Yeah, but you guys should come back when he shows one of his movies,” Willie said with a smile. “I mean, for Titanic, he literally floods the entire place. I mean, the guy has got skills.”

“Alright, but he can just wave his arms and make ghosts visible to lifers?” Luke said, crossing his arms.

“Told you, the guy’s got skills,” Willie said with a small chuckle.

“So… where’d he go?” Reggie asked, looking around. His eyes landed right behind you. “Oh! Found him!”

You turned around and almost ran into him. 

“Hello, gentleman, and gentlefolk,” he added, turning to look at you. “Caleb Covington. Welcome to the Hollywood Ghost Club. Enjoying the show?”

“Yo, that was….. I mean… did you, like….” Luke said, unable to form a complete sentence at the thought of the show. 

Caleb chuckled. “I know, right?”

“This is Alex, Luke, Reggie, and Y/N,” Willie said, pointing to each of you in turn. 

“We’ve already met,” you said, smiling coldly at your host. 

“Indead we have!” Caleb kissed your hand. “And may I say, you make a wonderful dance partner.”

“Yeah, you guys were amazing up there!” Reggie exclaimed. 

Caleb smiled. “Nothing warms my heart more than sharing this magic with new friends. Please, sit.”

Luke pulled out a chair for you again, and you took it, smiling at him. You glanced at Caleb again, who was looking your way with a puzzling expression on his face.

“Thank you for the invite,” Alex said. 

“Of course, of course. Now! My friend Willie tells me that you boys have some magic of your own.”

Alex glanced between him and Willie. “Well, Willie and I? I mean, I wouldn’t really call it magic, but I mean…” His voice was higher than usual. 

“Oh, no, he means your ghost abilities. You know, like, to be seen by everybody when you play with Julie,” Willie corrected him. 

Alex stared at him for a moment before continuing. “No, totally. Right, no. ‘Cause when you said that, I was like ‘Is that what he said’? ‘Cause….”

Caleb waved a hand, letting him know it was fine. 

“Yeah, but we can’t really, uh, wave our arms and do all this magic stuff,” Luke said, trying to save his friend from further embarrassment.

“Well, I’ve had a lot of practice. Our gifts are so rare, so special. It’s not often I come across other spirits that possess similar talents.” Caleb smiled at the boys. “It’s no surprise we found each other.”

“Yeah, that, definitely,” Luke said.

“Well, if you forgive me fella’s, I gotta go pay the bills, if you know what I’m saying,” Caleb said, standing up. “I’ll be back later to chat.”

Reggie had a dopey grin on his face. “I love that dude! Please tell me this party is never gonna end.”

Your uneasy feeling from earlier was starting to fade into the back of your mind. He couldn’t be the man who killed you, could he? He was so nice.

A little while later, you found yourself talking to some lifers with Luke and Reggie. Alex and Willie had stayed behind to talk. 

“Wait, they made eight more Star Wars movies, and they killed Han Solo? What kind of future is this?” Reggie asked with tears in his eyes. He stormed away.

“We found out like, two weeks ago, okay? We just didn’t have the heart to tell him,” Luke said after he was gone. “Just please don’t mention Jar Jar.”

You heard Alex and Willie talking behind you. “There’s a lot to, um, like here,” Willie said before getting up from the table. 

“Oh, you got a crush on Willie!” you said, walking over to him.

Alex looked at you. “What? No, no, we’re just-”

“Alex, we’re happy for you,” Luke cut him off, coming over. 

“You guys are not gonna believe this,” Reggie said, walking over. “But someone just told me they added a character named Jar Jar. What’s a Jar Jar?!”

“I take it you all are enjoying yourselves?” Caleb asked, appearing behind Reggie.

“Yeah, I mean, you’d have to be insane to have a bad time here,” you giggled, all bad feelings gone. 

Caleb smiled at you. “Well, entertainment is our specialty. Now, I understand there is something I can help you with.”

“We hope so. There’s an old buddy of ours who ripped us off big time, and we wanna make things right,” Reggie said. 

“Yeah, we wanna look him in the eyes and make him admit what he did to us. So if you could make us visible, that would be perfect,” Luke added. 

Caleb hummed. “Well sure, I could do that, but we’re at a party! Why focus on those who have wronged us when we’re among friends?” He seemed to be speaking directly to you.

A bad feeling started to creep back in, but it went away before you could even realize why it had been there. 

“What about you, my little raven? What can I do for you?” He asked you. 

“Me? Oh, I’m fine! I just follow the boys around,” you giggled, a bit surprised by the pet name. You put your arms around Luke and Reggie’s shoulders, pulling them into a side hug. They seemed a bit surprised, but pleased.

Caleb nodded. “Well please, sit,” he said, gesturing to the chairs as he sat.

“What if I were to tell you that with a wave of my hand, you could share the spotlight with me… and join my houseband?”

“Oh, uh, we… we already have a band,” Luke said awkwardly. 

“Yes, but when you’re done performing, you disappear. You cease to exist. No bows. No soaking up the applause. No… no real connection to the audience. Here, the audience knows what you are, and more importantly, they know how special you are.”

You all looked at each other. 

“Well, it could be cool to play here,” Luke said hesitantly.

“Oh, it’s not just here,” Caleb said quickly. “No, we party like this all over the world. Tonight, Hollywood, tomorrow, Paris!”

“Oh là là,” Reggie said, leaning forward in his chair.

“It is all your dreams come true, forever.” Caleb drew out the proposal, then stood up quickly. “I’m gonna give you some time to think about it.”

“Oh, by the way,” he called out as he walked away, “make sure to try the sliders. They’re to die for.”

“We can eat?” Reggie asked excitedly.

Caleb nodded. “Here you can.”

A waiter came by carrying trays heaping with food and set them down on your table. 

You started to reach for a slice of pizza, but Alex suddenly said “Wait!” You all looked at him in shock.

“I want the one without cheese.”

You dug in, eating for what felt like the first time in forever. 

You all mumbled inhoherntly for a bit, enjoying the food.

“This is a meatball sub!” Luke exclaimed. “Oh my god!”

A little while later, you had finished shoving your face. Willie had come back over. Luke and Reggie were still eating, however.

“Pizza, man, I missed you!” Luke said, staring at the pizza. You laughed. 

“Reggie, are you kissing that meatball sub?” Alex questioned. You looked over at Reggie to see a blush creeping over his cheeks. 

“It’s what you do with the things you love,” he said defensively. Luke reached over and took your hand. You smiled at him.

“I take it you’re all enjoying the feast?” Caleb called from the stage. You hollered along with the rest of the crowd. 

“So many delicious sights, so many tantalizing sounds… but your eyes still hunger for more. Something sweet. Something… savory. How many newcomers do we have in the club tonight?”

You raised your hand along with Luke, holding your joined hands for everyone to see. 

Caleb smiled and turned to his band. “Ladies… let’s show our guests how we do dessert.”

The music started up again, Caleb scatting along. 

“I said, watch me make a move, watch me make a move, yeah!”

“Whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do?” you sang along with the rest of the crowd.

Suddenly you were on the dancefloor again, in your normal clothes this time. You found that you didn’t mind. Willie was there with you.

“Life is good on the other side of Hollywood!”

The boys stood up as a girl danced over to them, swinging around Luke before doing a full body shimmy in front of Reggie, causing the poor boy to almost faint. You felt a twang of jealousy in your heart, but you couldn’t figure out why. 

Two of the showgirls moved in on them, dancing with the boys. You caught a glimpse of Alex dancing with two of the men that worked at the club. Suddenly you were pulled into a dance with a guy and a girl. Smiling and laughing, you danced with both of them, gasping in delight as they dipped you at the end of the song. 

The clock chimes rang out the hour.

“Oh, the haunting hour is upon us!” Caleb said ominously. 

You looked at the clock in fear. “How is it midnight?”

You heard Luke calling your name. “Sorry,” you mumbled to your dance partners before jogging over to him. Reggie and Alex were already walking towards the door. 

Before you could leave, however, Caleb teleported in front of you. 

“Gentleman, gentlefolk, what’s the rush? The party’s just getting started, and you have an eternity, after all.”

“You know that girl who can see us? We sort of bailed on her. See there’s this dance at her school, and her friend, Flynn, is a super cool DJ, like-”

“Yeah, I don’t think he has an eternity to hear this story,” Alex said, cutting off Reggie’s hasty explanation. 

“Basically, we’re late for a gig,” you said. 

Caleb frowned at you. “But what about my offer?”

“It’s very cool of you, Mr. Covington,” Luke said. “But like I said, we already have a-”

“A band of your own. I understand.”

You started to move past him, but he stopped you. 

“Oh, boys,” he said, looking past you. “If you ever want to come back and fix that little problem with your friend, the Hollywood Ghost Club is always open.”

Luke smiled. “Yeah, we’d love to come back.”

“Music to my ears,” Caleb smiled back. He shook hands with the boys, leaving a stamp on their wrists. You all looked at him in confusion. You were more confused why you didn’t have one then what they meant, however. 

“It’s just a little club stamp,” Caleb said in response to the boy’s unasked question. 

“Excuse me? Mr. Covington?” you asked. You didn’t usually ask questions, but something in you made you feel a bit more reckless than usual. “Why don’t I get one?”

Caleb smiled. “You already have one, my little raven.” Noticing your confusion, he added: “Check your ankle.”

You had forgotten about your ankle. Strange, it hadn’t hurt at all after you met Caleb. 

Sure enough, when you glanced down, there was a purple stamp.

“Whoa!” you exclaimed. “How’d you do that?”

Caleb smiled. “Magic. Until next time.”

You nodded and walked past him. 

“Peace,” Luke said. 

Reggie smiled at him, then walked past him to you and Luke. Alex joined you a moment later.

“Ready to go see our girl?” you asked, grabbing hands with Luke. The others nodded as you poofed out.

\-----

“Julie, we are ready to rock this dance!” Reggie said as the four of you ran into the gym. “Which….is clearly over….”

“Jules, we are so, so sorry that we bailed on you,” you started, tears starting to form in your eyes as you truely realized what you had done to one of your best friends.

“Yeah, I mean, the night really got away from us,” Alex said. 

“And the twins,” Reggie muttered. Luke smacked him. 

“Y/N, I know you wouldn’t do this to me on purpose,” Julie said, ignoring the boys. “Flynn’s in the cafeteria getting ice cream. Do you wanna go help her?”

“Oh, um, yeah. Thanks,” you said, poofing out into the cafeteria.

“Hey, Flynn,” you said glumly. She jumped slightly, startled at your sudden appearance. 

“Oh, hey, Y/N. Where were you guys?” She asked, shutting the freezer door with her foot. 

“The boys dragged me along to a club. We only meant to stay an hour, but it was some kind of… time warp.” You shrugged. 

“Oh. And I’m assuming Jules is yelling at them now, but knew you would never intentionally hurt her, so she sent you to go find me?”

“Pretty much, yeah.”

You had been walking as you talked. Before you realized it, you were outside of the gym again. 

Sharing a look, you and Flynn both pressed an ear to the door. 

“This was a mistake,” Julie said.

“You- you mean the school dance, right?” Luke asked.

“No. I mean joining a band with you guys”

You heard footsteps and shooed Flynn away from the doors. You poofed down the hallway so it would seem like you were just heading in that direction. 

“Hey. You okay?” Flynn asked as Julie came running out of the gym. 

She sighed. “I will be. Let’s just… go home.” She turned to look at you. “Y/N, if you don’t mind, would you mind staying with the guys? I don’t want them getting into any more trouble.”

You nodded. “Goodnight, guys,” you said before poofing back into the gym. 

“Uh, hey,” you said awkwardly. Luke nodded as hello. 

Reggie looked worried. “If… if Julie’s not in the band, then….”

“Then there is no band,” Luke sighed. 

Pain coursed through your body, starting at your ankle.

“Agh!” you heard the guys gasp as the same thing happened to them. 

“What was that?” Alex asked.

“It felt like we were dying all over again,” Reggie said, breathing heavily. 

Luke locked eyes with you. “How can we die if we’re already dead?”


	6. Finally Free

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and the band play at your first gig.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaa I’m so sorry this took so long! I was in a bit of a writing slump, and then school started. Also, I was trying really hard not to cry writing Luke’s birthday scene, so I have no idea how I’m gonna get through Unsaid Emily. Anyway yeah I hope you enjoy!

“How can we die if we’re already dead?” Luke asked, locking eyes with you.

After what happened in the gym last night, you decided you needed a little time alone, to process everything. Whatever it was had scared you, badly. 

You poofed into the Molina’s guest room, where Danny was staying. Wincing when you landed on your bad foot, you limped over to the window seat and sat, looking out at the street below. It was such a neighborhood. It was hard to believe that anything bad could happen here.

And yet, it had.

You gasped as the memory of the club came rushing back to you. Not the fun you had, but before that. Seeing the man who had killed you floating above the table. The Club had somehow made you forget that your host was a murderer. 

Sometime around 9 am, you decided to go check on the boys. They had been hit with the jolt too, after all.

“Y/N!” Reggie called out as you appeared in the studio.

“Where’d you go last night?” Luke asked from his chair. 

“I just needed some time to think.”

Luke nodded once, knowing from your tone not to pry. “Uh, hey, we were gonna go to a cafe, you wanna come?”

“Oh! Yeah, yeah sure. Sounds fun.”

Luke narrowed his eyes slightly in confusion, but grabbed your hand and teleported to the cafe. 

\-----

“Oh, great angle, yeah,” Reggie said as the lady snapped a picture of her food. For some reason, you, Alex, and Reggie were all sitting with this lady while Luke was standing at the counter. 

“Is this what we’re here for?” Alex asked, his voice showing that he was regretting all of his life decisions. “To watch people take pictures of food?”

“It’s fun!” Reggie defended himself. “Watch this, people never stop looking at their phones.” He began to move the woman’s food around the table. She looked around in confusion before leaving the cafe. The three of you chuckled. 

“Plus, Luke said something about this place being a hot spot for music industry people.”

“Boys!” Luke said, sitting down in the chair the lady had just left. He glanced at you before continuing: “and, uh, Y/N, being a ghost definitely has it’s privileges. I just wrote our names on the playlist for tonight.”

“I’m getting a little worried about him,” Alex said, speaking to you but loudly enough so that the others could hear him. “He keeps forgetting that Julie quit the band.”

“And that she’s gonna come back!” Luke protested. “Just as soon as she knows we have a great gig.”

You bit your lip. You knew how stubborn Julie was, and she was pretty mad at the boys.

“But if she doesn’t come back, let's not forget we do have somewhere else we can play,” Reggie said, noticing the look on your face. “And eat pizza.”

“Dude, I know, it was awesome to be seen by lifers at Caleb’s party-” you flinched. “-but we got this with Julie. We don’t need him.”

Pain flared through your body again, almost making you fall out of your seat. It was getting worse; it felt like being stabbed again.

“It’s that same thing again,” Alex said, rubbing his side.

“Just like yesterday!” Luke added. 

“It feels like that time I was fixing my amp in the rain,” Reggie said. You stared at him.

“You shouldn’t… okay,” Alex started, giving up. 

“Look, do you think something’s wrong with us?” you asked, to no one in particular. 

“Yeah, yeah, we ate 10 pounds of pizza yesterday without a stomach. I’m sure it’s just our bodies working through it,” Luke said, although there was a hint of worry in his voice. 

“So we’re just gonna forget about getting back at Trevor?” Reggie said, desperate to change the subject. “That jerk stole our music!”

“And he has to live with that guilt. It’s like what Julie said, we have a new band, a new sound, okay? That’s what we should be focusing on.” Luke leaned back in his chair, looking at the three of you. 

Alex suddenly sat up straighter. “Isn’t that Willie?” he said, walking out the door. 

Reggie smirked. “Well, someone’s not focusing on our music.” You gave a small laugh. 

“Hey, Y/N, are you okay?” Luke said, leaning over the table towards you. 

“Oh, oh yeah, I’ve just got a lot on my mind right now,” you said, giving him a small smile. 

He leaned back in his chair, chewing his lip. He knew you weren’t being completely honest, but he didn’t push it. 

\-----

“We’re sorry

So sorry

We’re super-duper, crazy stupid

Sorry!”

The boys sang as Julie walked into the studio.

“In case you missed it, we’re all really sorry,” you said, walking over to her. 

“Yeah, I… I got that part.”

“We’ve been here for like, three hours,” Alex said, high-fiving Reggie.

“We almost sang to your little brother.”

“He comes in here a lot. Mainly to use the bathroom.”

“It’s not our favorite part of the day,” Alex whispered. 

“But, Julie, it wasn’t okay that we flaked on the dance last night,” Luke said, getting the group back on topic. 

“We know we let you down,” you said, moving to stand with the boys. 

“And none of us wanted to disappoint you,” Alex said quickly. “You’re the best thing that’s happened to us since we became ghosts.”

“So, in hopes that you’ll rejoin the band, we booked a new gig,” Luke said, nervously handing Julie the flyer.

“A mega important, life-changing gig,” Reggie smiled. 

“Oh, okay, check it out. Tons of managers go here to listen to new bands. All we gotta do is blow them all away, and we’re living the dream.”

“So, this means a lot to you, huh?” Julie said coldly. “Kind of like how playing in front of my entire school meant a lot to me.”

“Sounds like sarcasm… I’m starting to think our plan isn’t working,” Reggie muttered to you and Alex. 

“Look, we know we messed up,” Alex started. 

“But, we need you in the band,” Luke finished. 

“Of course you do. Because without me, no one can see you guys playing.” You looked at the ground in shame as Julie spoke. “You know, I thought that the music we were writing was special, but you’re too obsessed with your past to even care.”

“I do care!” Luke protested. “Our band has a real chance at greatness, and I’m not gonna let that get away from us again!”

“Uh-huh. Right. So then why did you bail on me to get back at Trevor? I’ll tell you why. ‘Cause there’s only one thing you care about, Luke Patterson, and that’s yourself.”

She turned and stormed out of the garage. “Y/N, are you coming?” she called out. You glanced at the boys apologetically before following your best friend. 

\-----

Julie sat on the couch, quietly scribbling down answers to her math homework. You sat in the chair next to her, sketching on a piece of paper you had found. 

“You uh, you got a second?” Alex asked as the boys poofed in. Julie ignored them, turning on the couch so they wouldn’t be in front of her. You stared at the paper you were holding. 

“Oh my gosh, she can’t see us anymore!” Reggie exclaimed. Alex gave him a look; Reggie muttered “oh.”

Alex sat on the arm of the couch. “Julie, please.”

“I already told you, I’m done with the band,” she finally spoke. 

“Yeah, we know, alright? But before you decide that forever, we just… we wanted you to know that Luke isn’t as selfish as you think he is.”

“Yeah, you’ve got him all wrong,” Reggie spoke up. 

Julie scoffed and went back to her homework.

“You remember that song ‘Emily’? Can we at least show you who that’s about?”

\-----

You never thought you would be spying on a ghost boy, but here you were. The four of you had walked to a house not too far away from Julie’s, and were peering through the front window from a distance. Luke was sitting on the counter, his eyes red from crying, watching an older couple move around the kitchen. It was Luke’s parents house.

“So, Emily’s his mom?” Julie asked, peering out from behind a tree. 

“Yeah. Yeah, Luke comes here a lot,” Alex said, crouching behind a chair. 

“He thinks we don’t know but, we’ve been following him,” Reggie admitted. “All he does is just, hang out like this and watch them. They never really do anything, though.”

“They’re having cake,” you noted. “That’s something.”

“It’s a… it’s a birthday cake. For Luke.” 

A tear slid down your cheek, matching the boy inside. 

“I never knew Luke was hurting this much,” Julie said.

“Yeah. It’s even worse because when he died, he… left on bad terms. You know, his parents didn’t want their 17-year-old to be in a rock band, so… he just left.” Alex said softly. “He never got the chance to make up with them.”

You watched as Luke blew out his birthday candle. His parents relit it and blew it out together.

“That’s why Luke was so angry,” you guessed, tears falling freely. “If Trevor had given Luke credit for writing all the songs, then…” you trailed off.

“His parents would have known his dreams were worth chasing,” Reggie sighed.

“They would have been so proud,” Julie said, her voice breaking a little. You looked over at her and saw that she was crying, too. 

Alex stood up. “We know how bad it hurts when someone that should’ve had your back… completely lets you down. We never meant to make you feel that way.”

“Julie, we love our band,” Reggie said, still crouching behind a plant. “And Luke does too. Please give us another chance.”

You looked back at Luke and his family one last time, noticing a bouquet of flowers on the island. You smiled to yourself. They were dahlia’s, Rose’s favorite.

\-----

“Marching on proud

Turn it up loud

‘Cause now we know what we’re worth,” you and Julie harmonized.

Luke suddenly appeared in a chair. “Whoa,” he said as the music died out. Then he smiled. “Julie.”

She smiled back at him. “Grab a guitar. We got work to do.”

“What made you come back?”

“I realized how important music is to all of us. And we’ve lost so much already. We can’t lose this too.”

“Thanks,” Luke said quietly. Julie smiled at him. “Alright, boss, where we at?”

Julie smirked, taking pride in the name. “Oh, and by the way, happy birthday.”

Luke looked a little stunned, and he glanced at you. 

“Happy birthday,” you said quietly, smiling at him.

A slight blush creeped onto his cheeks. 

Julie laughed slightly. “Let’s go from the pre-chorus.”

Alex smiled. “One, two three four!”

\-----

“Guys, are you sure? She’s probably just getting dressed or something,” you said as Luke, Alex, and Reggie stopped outside of Julie’s door.

Reggie smirked. “Which is why I’ll be doing this.” He stuck his arm through the door and knocked on this inside. 

You heard Julie chuckle as she called out: “What are you guys doing?”

Reggie stuck his head through the door. “We’re being classy,” you heard him say. You and Alex pulled him back. 

The four of you walked through the door.

“Why are you still here?” Luke asked. “We’re going in like, twenty minutes.”

Julie sighed. “I lied to my dad, so… now I’m stuck in my room all night.”

“Yeah, but, we were just at the venue! I mean it’s packed, like, VIPs, managers…” Alex trailed off. “It’s kinda crazy.”

“What are we gonna do about my aunt?” Julie asked, sighing again. “She’s right downstairs.”

Luke walked over to her window, smirking as he opened it. “You’re not taking the stairs.”

Julie shook her head slightly. “Okay. Let me get dressed. I’ll meet you guys there.”

The guys all poofed out, but you stayed behind for a minute, admiring your best friend’s room. It was just so… her.

“Y/N?” Julie asked, making you jump slightly. 

“Oh, sorry, I’ll leave-” you started, but Julie cut you off. 

“No, it’s fine.” She walked over to the trunk of her mom’s clothes, pulling out a leather jacket and turquoise romper.

“So,” she started. “What’s the deal with Luke?”

You felt your face go red. “Huh?” you sputtered. “I don’t-”

“Oh come on, Y/N,” she said with a smirk. “Everyone can see the way you look at him. And the way he looks at you.”

You shook your head. “Even if I did like him, which I’m not saying I do, there’s no way he would like me back.”

Julie rolled her eyes. 

“Really Jules! I mean, look at me!” You gestured to yourself. “I’m a mess, inside and out.”

Julie walked over to you and let her hands hover over your shoulders. “Y/N, you are one of the most beautiful people I know. Inside and out,” she smiled. 

“You really think so?” you asked. 

She nodded. You smiled. “Thanks, Jules.”

“Anytime,” she said, smiling back before putting on her outfit for the night. 

\-----

“Next up, Dirty Candi,” announced the MC. 

“Am I too late?” Julie said, rushing over to where you and Flynn were standing. 

“Too early,” Flynn said, staring at the stage where Carrie was standing.

“Hope you all came to have a great time!” she said in a peppy voice. 

You glanced back and forth between Carrie and Flynn a few times. 

“Dirty Candi? How’d she get on the list?” Julie asked.

Flynn scoffed. “Her daddy probably made a call.”

You saw the way Flynn was staring at Carrie, trying to hide behind disgust. You smirked to yourself, but didn’t say anything. 

“I like this!” Flynn said, examining Julie’s jacket. “Pretty flower.” 

“Thanks. It’s a dahlia. My mom’s favorite.”

The three of you fell silent as Carrie started to sing. 

“Whenever I walk in the room

All the focas on me

The way I talk the way I move

They all want on my team.”

You rolled your eyes; it was clear that Carrie was just bragging about herself. Although you had to admit, the song was catchy and the dance moves were pretty cool. 

The guys appeared behind you, smiling as they watched the routine.

“The party don’t start ‘till I walk in

I’m stealing all the attention

Don’t get me started on mentions, yeah”

Suddenly Alex was on the stage. You and Reggie looked at each other in confusion, but Alex looked just as confused as you did. 

He quickly got over his confusion however, and he started dancing along with Dirty Candi. You laughed at his antics, making Flynn look at you in confusion.

“Oh, it’s the guys,” you explained. 

Alex poofed back off the stage. 

“You having fun out there?” Julie asked him, laughter in her voice.

“It’s not my fault it’s my… it’s my feet.”

Julie scoffed, smiling at him. “Yeah.”

Alex grinned. “Put me back in, coach,” he muttered before appearing on the stage again.

You were thoroughly enjoying watching him dance around on stage, walking through Carrie and obviously having the time of his life. 

When the song ended, he hopped around in a little circle. “You’re making me blush,” he said, pretending the audience was clapping for him. Four members were.

He poofed back to you guys. “I um, I was just doing that for you guys.”

“Mmhmm. You can stop smiling now,” Reggie said playfully. 

“I’m not gonna lie, that was… kinda good,” Julie said. 

“Yeah.” Flynn scrunched up her nose. “I forgot why I hate her so much.”

Carrie walked up to the six of you, although to her it only looked like Julie and Flynn. 

“Hi girls!” she said brightly. “Isn’t it past your bedtime?”

Flynn turned to Julie. “Now I remember.”

“If you’re looking for Nick, he didn’t come,” Carrie said coldly.

Julie stepped up to her. “That’s not why I’m here.”

“Okay, looks like we’re closing out the night with one more group,” the MC announced. “ ‘Julie and the Fat Ones’.”

You, Alex, Reggie, and Julie all looked at Luke as Dirty Candi laughed. 

“Really?” Alex asked him.

“Yeah man, my handwriting sucks.”

Julie walked past Carrie onto the stage, the four of you following her. 

“Uh, hi, it’s actually ‘Julie and the Phantoms’,” Julie said, her voice coming up at the end of the sentence, making it sound like a question. 

“Okay,” she muttered when no one answered, and started to play the piano.

“Hearts on fire

We’re no liars

So we say what we wanna say

I’m awakened 

No more fakin’

So we push all our fears away”

You joined her, appearing on stage and taking the harmony line. The crowd gasped.

“Don't know if I’ll make it

‘Cause I’m falling under

Close my eyes and feel my chest

Beating like thunder

I wanna fly

Come alive

Watch me shine.”

Suddenly, the boys appeared too, making the crowd gasp again.

“I’ve got a spark in me

Hands up if you can see

And you’re a part of me

Hands up if you’re with me

Now ‘till eternity

Hands up if you believe 

Been so long and now we’re finally free”

Julie smiled, letting you take the second verse. 

“We’re all bright now

What a sight now

Coming out like we’re fireworks

Marchin’ on proud

Turn it up loud

‘Cause now we know what we’re worth”

You smiled as Luke joined you.

“We know we can make it

We’re not fallin’ down under

Close my eyes and feel my chest

Beating like thunder

I wanna fly

Come alive

Watch me shine”

The five of you launched into the chorus again, Julie taking the melody. You dropped out, letting Julie and Luke sing the bridge.

“I got a spark in me

I got a spark in me

And you’re a part of me

And you’re a part of me

Now ‘till eternity

Now ‘till eternity

Been so long and now we’re finally free”

You smiled into your microphone as Julie nailed the high note, taking the melody of the chorus.

You grinned as the song came to an end, enjoying the adrenaline rush that came with singing in front of a crowd. You heard the crowd gasp again as the four of you disappeared, leaving Julie apparently alone on stage. 

“Thank you, we’re Julie and the Phantoms. Tell your friends,” she smiled before stepping off the stage. She immediately ran over to the bar area where you and Flynn were waiting.

You all squealed as they hugged each other.

“You were incredible! Both of you,” Flynn said, beaming at her two best friends.

“Yeah we were!” Reggie said as the boys appeared. 

You stood there in an excited silence for a minute more. 

“Hey, hey, whoever Carrie was trying to impress is coming this way,” Luke said suddenly. 

“Oh, it’s…” Julie trailed off as she turned around and saw the woman making her way over.

“She looks all business,” Alex said a little nervously.

“Wait, who should do the talking?” Reggie asked. Julie looked at him. “Oh, right.”

The woman stretched her hand out for Julie to shake. “Hi, I’m Andi Parker, and I’m-”

“Julie.” Andi Parker was cut off by Ray. 

“Dad!” Julie said in surprise. 

“It’s time to go.”


End file.
